Almog Shahar, Hone Liana S E, Licata Chiara M, Rung Jillian M, Berry Meredith S
Department of Health Education and Behavior, University of Florida.
Exp Clin Psychopharmacol. 2025 Feb;33(1):109-121. doi: 10.1037/pha0000743. Epub 2024 Oct 10.
Although crowdsourcing platforms are widely used in substance-use research, it is unclear what percentage of participants use substances at the time of participation and how this might affect data quality, behavioral outcomes, or decision making. We conducted a secondary analysis of data collected on MTurk for a two-session, within-subject experiment recruiting individuals who regularly use alcohol, cannabis, cigarettes, or opioids. We analyzed 527 observations collected across two sessions (Session 1: = 303, Session 2: = 224) on measures of substance use before (within 3 hr)/during participation, data quality, demand in hypothetical purchase tasks, delay discounting, and craving. Substance use before/during participation was common (35.7%). Some participants reported substance use before/during both (25.4%) or only one (20.1%) of the sessions. Between-subject analyses of the first session data revealed that participants who used substances before/during participation did not differ on quality measures yet were slower to complete the survey. Controlling for individual differences in demographic variables and typical substance use, using a substance before/during participation was associated with increased hypothetical consumption of substances when the substance was free (demand intensity) and higher craving for substances, but not delay discounting. Substance use before/during MTurk participation among individuals who regularly use substances is prevalent and may impact outcome measures or standardization across sessions in repeated measures designs. Several implications have emerged, including statistically or experimentally controlling for substance use occurring before/during participation, which could improve the validity and rigor of online substance use research, and should be considered a part of best practices. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).
尽管众包平台在物质使用研究中被广泛应用，但尚不清楚参与研究时使用物质的参与者比例，以及这可能如何影响数据质量、行为结果或决策。我们对在MTurk上收集的数据进行了二次分析，该数据来自一项两阶段的、受试者内实验，招募的是经常使用酒精、大麻、香烟或阿片类药物的个体。我们分析了在两个阶段收集的527份观察数据（第一阶段：= 303，第二阶段：= 224），涉及参与前（3小时内）/参与期间的物质使用情况、数据质量、假设购买任务中的需求、延迟折扣和渴望程度。参与前/参与期间使用物质的情况很常见（35.7%）。一些参与者报告在两个阶段的参与前/参与期间都使用了物质（25.4%），或者只在其中一个阶段使用了物质（20.1%）。对第一阶段数据的受试者间分析表明，在参与前/参与期间使用物质的参与者在质量指标上没有差异，但完成调查的速度较慢。在控制人口统计学变量和典型物质使用的个体差异后，参与前/参与期间使用物质与物质免费时假设的物质消费量增加（需求强度）以及对物质的更高渴望有关，但与延迟折扣无关。在经常使用物质的个体中，MTurk参与前/参与期间使用物质的情况很普遍，可能会影响重复测量设计中各阶段的结果指标或标准化。已经出现了一些影响，包括在统计或实验上控制参与前/参与期间发生的物质使用情况，这可以提高在线物质使用研究的有效性和严谨性，并且应该被视为最佳实践的一部分。（PsycInfo数据库记录（c）2025美国心理学会，保留所有权利）
